X-ray structure determination

Atomic resolution

NovAliX structural biology group leads the world in nuclear hormone receptors. This expertise has been applied to numerous protein families including kinases, proteases, phosphatases, epigenetic targets, phosphodiesterases and protein/antibody complexes.

The highly effective protein production and purification and crystallization platform underpin the effectiveness of X-ray structural determinations. Projects range from structure determination of targets already in our crystal gallery to reproduction of published data and de novo structure determination. The majority of structural determinations are of co-crystals with small molecule ligands to support rational drug design approaches to drug discovery.

The NovAliX crystal gallery provides a wide choice of targets. Amongst the more than 80 targets, there are a large number of protein families including nuclear hormone receptors, kinases and epigenetic targets. In just 4 – 12 weeks we routinely determine co-crystal structures with novel ligands selected by our clients.

De novo structural determination is usually achieved by designing multiple constructs after extensive sequence analysis with bioinformatics tools. The soluble constructs are used to generate crystals. Using SAD/MAD methods or molecular replacement to solve the phase problem the crystallographers usually achieve structural determinations within 3 – 6 months.